>> BALDWIN COUNTY
Carlos Tobar knows a penny can a long way. His problem is, he is concerned that enough Baldwin County voters don’t share that sentiment or feel strongly enough to make a trip to the polls.
A Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) referendum is Tuesday, March 21, though early voting has taken place for the past two weeks and continues through Friday. Tobar, Baldwin’s County Manager, pointed to the sparse number of residents who have taken advantage of the early voting – only 450 out of 27,345 registered voters – as of this past Tuesday at lunchtime.
“I am concerned,” he said this past Monday morning. “There are some people who think this an additional tax; they don’t know it’s an extension (of the current one-cent local tax). I don’t know whether they realize how important this is to how we operate our county.”
Tobar said he and other county officials have been trying to educate the public about what has been accomplished with the current tax funds and the need for the continuation of the penny tax.
He has put together and shared a presentation of the projects completed with SPLOST funds since collection began April 1, 2018.
The county manager stressed that the special tax funds help bring in millions of additional dollars.
“The SPLOST dollars help matching the grants,” he said. “The total of grants for the last five years is $17,714.671. Without SPLOST, there is no way we could get most of our grants.”
Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), ‘smart’ water meters, road and bridge projects, airport improvements and upgrades are a few of the examples of partnerships that were successful due to SPLOST funds, he said.
Tobar said the funding breakdown for the airport improvements was 95 percent in grants and just 5 percent SPLOST funds. Public works improvements such as the Roberts Road bridge and Stembridge Road roundabout came through funding via the state Local Maintenance Improvement Grants (LMIG) program, which pays roughly 70 percent of the cost, the remainder coming from SPLOST.
Water and sewer infrastructure improvements through SPLOST included two miles of new sewer pipes in Oconee Heights, 12.50 miles of new water lines, and just under 10,000 ‘smart’ water meters.
The new administration building was the biggest expenditure with the current SPLOST funds, costing some $13.4 million for land acquisition, site work, design, actual construction cost, and equipment and furnishings. That building’s opening led to more office space and the need for renovations in the courthouse, including a room designed for grand jurors for the District Attorney’s office.
Tobar and Finance Director/Assistant County Manager Dawn Hudson shared other projects that benefited from SPLOST funds, including the repurposing of the former Sheriff’s Department on Linda Drive into an animal shelter, 4-H/ water and conservation office, and space for Grady ambulances as well as repurposing of the former Department of Health building for Emergency Services, and the Senior Citizens Center, among others.
Tobar pointed to the new county health department building as another example of matching funds.
“That is a $2.2 million building, and the county paid just $200,000. The rest was paid by the Department of Public Health.”
A project not yet underway construction- wise is the new Aquatics Center. The water park is a $5 million project and will be paid for in funds from both the existing and proposed tax and matching grant money. Design work is in place, and requests for grants in the total amount of $2.5 million are being submitted. County officials are hoping for approval of at least one of those in the near future, and work should commence soon thereafter.
Tobar said the commissioners were asked to construct a swimming pool for county residents. Board members were not particularly in favor of that idea.
“We didn’t want just a pool,” he said, explaining that the concept of a water park had been presented for consideration. “We toured several facilities around the state, and the commissioners fell in love with the Southern Pines Water Park in Dublin.” That facility features a splash pad, lazy river, big slides for the big kids, a pool and concession stand.
“Last year they made a $20,000 profit on the concessions alone,” Tobar said.
He added that Baldwin County’s park, which will be located adjacent to the county gym near the intersection of Highways 22 and 112, will also include a slide for younger children and lighting.
Phase 2 funding for the park in the upcoming referendum totals $2 million, now earmarked for 2026-27. Some of that will be matched by grant money.
Tobar said the hope and plan is that the facility will be self-supporting.
“Our golf course is self-sustaining, our airport makes money, and we want out aquatics center to at least break even.”
The continuation of that project is just one of many set forth on a list compiled by the Board of Commissioners. According to the documents prepared by the County Commission office, it is anticipated that a maximum of $55,000,000 would be raised in the next six years through the one-cent tax renewal, with $40.5 million designated for county agencies’ use and $14.5 million for the city.
Figures for some of the departments include: $7.3 million for the water and sewer department; $7 million for economic development; $6.4 million for the fire department; $4.1 million for fleet replacement, county-wide; $4.9 million for recreation, including Little Fishing Creek; $4 million for Road Department, Public Roads; and $3.1 million for EMA and E-911, as well as smaller amounts for other departments.
The fire department expenditures include funds for two new fire stations.
“Most of the growth and lack of coverage (fire protection) is on the East side of the river,” Tobar said. “That’s the game plan, to get two new fire stations over there for 452 homes.”
Funding for the Sheriff’s Department includes $500,000 for a new training center, while the funds for the recreation complex will be used for a variety of purposes prioritized over the next seven years.
The county manager also said two planned recreational projects will cost the county very little money: nine miles of mountain bike trails in the area of the existing Walter B. Williams park and a disc golf course in the same proximity.
“Volunteers are doing a lot of the work,” he said. “It will likely cost the county less than $20,000.”
Tobar said the local option sales tax is crucial to Baldwin County.
“We use the sales tax to do most of our capital improvements,” he commented. That’s what we’re going to have to do to keep our property taxes low.”
The county manager added that, should the referendum not be successful, the consequences would be severe.
“The biggest issue is we’d lose our grants. We’re telling everyone we’re probably going to match them with SPLOST funds. If we don’t have SPLOST, we don’t have an application.”